Shaan Narayan - E-Portfolio

In the summer of 2023, I served as a Systems Engineering Intern for the Utilization Team at Sierra Space. Sierra Space is a revolutionary commercial space company looking to build a vertically integrated platform in space that includes space vehicles, space stations, and satellites. I was specifically working on the Utilization team in the Space Destinations program, working as an engineer to design different products that astronauts would interact with on board the Orbital Reef Space Station. In this role, I conducted design trades where I brainstormed and evaluated different design options, conducted rapid prototyping to validate or invalidate different concepts, and created project planning matrices to increase team efficiency. My responsibilities also included collaborating with my product team members, presenting our decisions to our stakeholders at design reviews, and assisting with mockups for investor presentations. I chose to pursue this experience because I was interested in learning more about what it is like to work at a company immersed in a dynamic and innovative industry such as commercial space.
   Upon reflection, I learned so much from working with full-time engineers in this start-up environment. While I cannot go into specific details about the ideas I created, one of my biggest takeaways was how to thoroughly take an idea from customer requirements to a finished product through a robust design process. However, this journey wasn't without its challenges. There was an instance where I realized that some of the work I presented had a calculation error in it. From this experience, I learned the importance of communication as clearly and early as possible. Because I notified my stakeholders of this issue when I found it, we were able to resolve the issue without significant backtracking. Overall, my most important takeaways were how to define a finished product, whether it is a commercial good, presentation, or memo, how to present information clearly and efficiently to a customer, and how to manage a product team. 

​

Work Product:

My second experience was also at Sierra Space but with a different sector of the company. In the summer of 2024, I returned as a Systems Engineering Intern, but on the Rendevous and Proximity Operations Team in the Satellites Division. In this role, I worked to develop and test computer vision algorithms to inform open design questions and to be used for missions. I also picked up work with another team working to design a product for a mock-up at Sierra Space. I chose to return to Sierra Space because I enjoyed working in the fast-paced start-up environment and I enjoyed tackling problems related to commercial space, specifically human space flight. 
   Upon reflection of the summer, I was able to accomplish a lot for both of the projects that I worked on. Specifically, I built an algorithm that was capable of pose estimation using computer vision and executed a test procedure for this algorithm. Additionally, with my other project, I was able to take an idea from ideation to procurement. However, balancing these projects was a big commitment for me and was hard to juggle. At times, deadlines slipped because both projects were ramping up at the same time. However, I learned the importance of constantly communicating what my availability to work was and being realistic about what work I could get done. Overall, my biggest takeaways were the abundance of technical skills I learned such as computer vision and designing a product for several factors including installation, manufacturing, use, cost, and time. I also learned how to balance the two projects I was working on to ensure everything was done at high quality and high speed.

​

Work Product: